


And Then it All Goes Wrong

by Only_Dropsie



Series: The Marauders Era, First Year [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Arguing, Family Issues, Includes Canon Dialogue, James Potter and Severus Snape Fight, James Potter is a Good Friend, Lily is disappointed, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Sirius Black just wants to be accepted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23671828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Only_Dropsie/pseuds/Only_Dropsie
Summary: Sirius Black should have known everything was too good to be true.
Relationships: James Potter & Lily Evans Potter, James Potter & Severus Snape, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy (mentioned), Petunia Evans Dursley & Lily Evans Potter (mentioned), Sirius Black & Black Family (mentioned), Sirius Black & James Potter, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Severus Snape
Series: The Marauders Era, First Year [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637365
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	And Then it All Goes Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> None of the characters or settings are mine. 
> 
> This chapter includes Canon Dialogue from Chapter Thirty Three, The Princes Tale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The chapter is however from the perspective of another character, so somethings may come across a little differently. I will mark where the Canon Dialogue begins and end with three stars.

The compartment was empty when Sirius returned. James and Lily were still off doing whatever was taking them so long, and Severus seemed to have scampered off to look for them. Sirius was fine with the silence, it gave him a chance to get his thoughts in order before he told them who he was. How was he going to do this? 

His thoughts drifted back to the main character in that Muggle book Andromeda had secretly given him for his tenth birthday. When he had to tell his friends something important, he spent the night in front of the mirror practising. Maybe he should do that? Practice aloud and figure out his words. Only one problem, Sirius didn’t have a mirror. 

The door to the compartment slid open, interrupting Sirius’ thoughts. James stepped in from the hallway, looking lost, and sat down opposite Sirius. 

“She’s not back yet then?” James mumbled, running a hand through his hair, and looking around the room as if Lily could be hidden somewhere. There was something wrong with him, but Sirius couldn’t quite tell what it was. 

“No,” Sirius replied, and he found himself looking around the room too, “Wasn’t she with you?”

James glanced at Sirius for a second, before closing his eyes and throwing his head back with a groan, “She was, but we got separated.” 

There was something in James’ tone that told Sirius that wasn’t the full story, but he didn’t want to push. Turns out James didn’t need him to, “We ran into some of those Sacred Twenty-Eight families.” 

Sirius froze, but not for the reason you’d expect, he wasn’t one bit afraid of his ancestry being discovered right now, he was worried about Lily, “Did they try to hurt her?” He wouldn’t put it past them, he knew those people, in a way he was those people. 

James slid further down the seat, “No, not physically at least,” He pulled himself up suddenly, looking Sirius directly in the eye, “They called her that name though.” 

Sirius’ stomach did a flip, he knew that name, if he was honest he had used that name many times. Until he was nine, he had thought that was the correct name for Muggle-Borns. Andromeda had sat him down and corrected him at one of the many summer parties their families had, and Sirius had hated himself a little bit because of that word ever since. 

Silence fell between the two boys, as if neither of them knew how to follow up from what was just said. In all honesty, they didn’t. 

“What did they look like?” Sirius asked suddenly, so suddenly it almost seemed to give James a fright. 

James looked Sirius up and down, as if trying to figure out why it mattered, “There were a few of them,” He answered, “The main one was blonde, but her hair looked more white than yellow. Slytherin of course, about fifth or sixth year I’d say. Her name started with an ‘N’, I think. One of the other’s called her by it, a boy, he held her hand.”

“Narcissa Black,” Sirius provided, thinking it was better to admit he knew them than act as though he didn’t

“That’s it!” James exclaimed excitedly, but then his face dropped, “Do you know them?”

Sirius had to laugh, but it was a cold laugh, a laugh that could never be mistaken for a happy one, “She’s my cousin. First cousin if that matters.”

James just stared at him, mouth agape. He made no attempt to speak, or throw the punch Sirius had been expecting. 

“The boy was probably Lucius Malfoy, they’re really close, they spent nearly the whole summer together,” Sirius added quickly, before clamping his mouth shut and awaiting a reaction. 

“You’re not like them,” James said finally.

Sirius blinked, all the explanations he thought he would need lost in his throat, “Wh-what?”

“You’re not a bit like them,” James said, certainty filling his voice, “I can tell.”

“I don’t want to be.” Sirius stated. 

“Good, ‘cause you're not mate.”

Sirius looked up to see James smiling at him, as if he hadn’t just admitted to being from one of the worst families in the Wizarding World.

“I’m still one of them though. I always will be,” Sirius found himself saying, and he didn’t know why, James seemed perfectly happy to leave it where it was.

“Not necessarily,” James responded almost immediately, “I mean you can’t help what you’re born into. The same way Lily couldn’t, not that Muggles are bad, but you get the point. I would never hold where she came from against her. Why would I hold it against you?”  
Sirius thought he could feel the start of tears coming to his eyes, and he had to fight a very strong urge he had to hug James. 

“Besides, I know you can’t now, but one day you will be older, and you will be able to walk away,” James explained, “You could even change your name if you wanted to.”

Sirius was sure he was going to lose the fight of keeping his tears back and attempting not hugging James. He never got the chance though, as the door slid open and Lily rushed in, moving straight by the boys and burying herself in the chair by the window. 

Unlike Sirius, she didn’t seem to have been able to hold back her tears, whatever had happened. Lily had her face hidden against the window, and her knees brought up to her chest. She almost looked asleep, but Sirius could see the way her body shaked, and he could hear the small sobs escaping her lips. 

He turned to James, just as James turned to him, and their eyes met. Sirius knew his eyes held the same concern as James’ did. 

“Lily, is everything alright?” Sirius called across the compartment, but all he got in return was the muffled sound of her sobbing. 

“Lily,” James spoke up, “I was telling the truth earlier, it really doesn’t matter.” 

“It really doesn’t,” Sirius chipped in, hoping to help her in any way he could. 

Lily peered out from behind her arms, her eyes were red and blotchy, and she had gone remarkably pale, “Thank you for being so kind, it really doesn’t matter anyway, I don’t know what I was expecting,” She said, her tone of voice clear and not matching her face at all, and then she retreated back into her arms, curling in even closer to the window. 

Then the room fell into what Sirius would have to call, the most uncomfortable silence he had ever witnessed. Lily’s almost silent, and extremely muffled sobs were the only sounds he could hear. Sirius didn’t know where to look, and found himself looking at his feet, which he supposed was as good a place as any. From what Sirius could see of James, the boy with glasses seemed to be even more uncomfortable than he was, and was tapping his foot against the air. 

“So Sirius, do you like quidditch?” James asked, drawing Sirius’ attention away from his feet. 

“Ehm, yeah I do,” Sirius responded confused as to why this was important now, before lifting his satchel from beside him and pulling out his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, “I bought this when I was in Diagon Alley getting my school stuff.” 

James reached over the space between the seats, and took the book from Sirius. He flipped through the pages, looking at each of them briefly. 

“Do you play?” James questioned, throwing the book back at Sirius, “That seems good by the way.”

Sirius didn’t bother to catch the book, instead letting it fall into his lap. He didn’t understand what James was doing. Lily was in what seemed to be agony not even six feet away from them, and James was talking about quidditch instead of helping, but fighting about that now wouldn’t help Lily either, “No. I live in a terraced house in London, there’s not much room.” 

James nodded simply, smiling across at him. Then Sirius noticed it, James peeking in Lily’s direction so quickly that Sirius wasn’t sure he had seen it at all, and then James was looking right back at him like it never happened. 

James began talking, something about his Grandfather taking him to the Quidditch World Cup last year, but Sirius was concentrating on something else, the way James kept looking off in Lily’s direction. Every time he looked at her, his face seemed to drop a little bit more, he was concerned. Why was he acting as if nothing was happening?

The door slid open, and Severus slipped past them without a word, without even glance in their direction. It seemed that in his mind they weren’t even in the compartment. Severus sat down opposite Lily, and finally she took her head from her hands. Sirius tried not to look in her direction, he didn’t want her to think he was judging her for crying, and James was still talking away. It seemed that he too was pretending that two of the people in the room weren’t there. 

***

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Lily said, her voice seeming to be on the edge of breaking. 

Severus, like Sirius, seemed to be as confused as ever, “Why not?”

Lily turned to face him, cheek still pressed against the window, her tears staining the glass, “Tuney h - hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore.”

These words didn’t seem to confuse Severus as much as they confused Sirius, who was still pretending to listen to James’ ramblings about Quidditch. Who was Tuney? Wasn’t she sad because of how Narcissa and the others treated her? He couldn’t remember any of his family’s friends being called Tuney. And what letter to Dumbledore?

“So what?” Severus asked, his tone so casual you wouldn’t know his best friend was bawling in front of him.

Lily didn’t seem too impressed at that statement, shooting Severus a dirty look, “So she’s my sister!”

Severus started to reply without missing a beat, “She’s only a -”, but then he stopped himself. Whatever he had been about to say getting lost in his throat. Lily who had buried her head in arms again in an attempt to wipe her eyes without being noticed didn’t seem to hear him. 

“But we’re going!” Severus said, after taking a second to settle his thoughts, “This is it! We’re off to Hogwarts!” He sounded happy, in fact it was the first time Sirius had seen him act anyway happy since they met, and suddenly his friendship with Lily made a bit more sense. 

In the corner of his eye Sirius noticed that James was also taking in the situation by the window, although he was still chatting away about Quidditch. It seemed Sirius wasn’t the only one using this conversation as a cover for eavesdropping. 

Lily nodded at Severus, seemingly too engrossed in her own conversation to notice the two onlookers, she gave Severus a small smile. Sirius saw James’ shoulders relax, dropping out of his stiff position, as a grin crept onto his face. 

“You’d better be in Slytherin,” Severus remarked, apparently gaining confidence from Lily’s growing happiness. 

A sudden movement caught Sirius’ eye, and when he turned he was met with a James who had visibly perked up in the last few moments. He was on the edge of his seat, his grin had turned into a smirk, and he looked a moment away from jumping to his feet. Sirius felt his stomach twist, and chill run up his spine. A feeling of dread fell over him. Something was about to go horribly wrong, he knew it. 

“Slytherin?” James blurted, his voice sounding as if he was on the verge of laughter, as if he had just been told the best joke he had ever heard, “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” He finished, turning to Sirius. 

Sirius’ heart stopped. What the hell was this boy doing? James knew he was a Black. Was he mocking him? Did he actually hate him for being a Black? Was the conversation they had earlier been a set up so he could berate him once the others were here?

The memory of the conversation flashed through his head. 

“You’re not like them.”

“You’re not a bit like them. I can tell”

“My whole family have been in Slytherin,” Sirius forced himself to say.

“Blimey, and I thought you seemed alright,” James said, his voice no longer full of the humour from before, but something else and the something seemed positive. 

And then it hit Sirius like a tonne of bricks, and apparently being hit by a tonne of bricks was enough to restart a heart. James was so sure Sirius wasn’t like his family, he didn’t think Sirius would care if he mocked Slytherin. It hadn’t crossed the other boy's mind that maybe Sirius wanted to be a Slytherin, because he thought Sirius wasn’t a bit like his family, James believed he could go against his family.. 

“Maybe I’ll break tradition,” Sirius proclaimed, not even trying to stop the smile from forming on his face. For the first time he believed he could leave his family behind and someone else did too, “Where are you heading, if you have a choice?”

James raised his arms in the air, waving them about as if he was holding a sword, “ ‘Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my Dad.’

Severus let out a small noise, an amused noise, as if James had just said something really stupid. 

“Got a problem with that?” James asked, turning to Severus. James' face was twisted in what could only be called offence. 

Severus was sneering, “No. If you’d rather be brawny than brainy -”

In that moment Sirius didn’t know what took over him. He assumed his building dislike for Severus, and building trust in James were major factors though, “Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?” He interrupted. 

And then time froze. Sirius looked into the faces around him, trying to see their reactions. James looked caught between looking at Sirius with pride, and laughing. Sirius had obviously hit a nerve of Severus’, who was now staring blankly at him. Sirius swore he could see Severus’ pulse behind his eyebrow. 

Then there was Lily, who was looking at him with no hint of any emotion on her face. Some of the tears from earlier were still there, but she didn’t look sad. All at once how she felt seemed to hit her, and she sat up straight glaring at Sirius and James, “Come on, Severus, let’s find another compartment,” And with that she grabbed Severus by the arm, and pulled him towards the door. Her face was red, and Sirius couldn’t tell if it was from her previous tears, or her current anger. 

“Oooooo …” James mocked, and Sirius found himself joining in, despite his better judgement.

Everything happened so quickly. Lily and Severus hurried past them, Lily no longer passing the boys any heed. Sirius saw James try to trip Severus as he passed. Once they were in the hallway, Lily reached for the door and slid it shut with a bang.

“See ya, Snivellus!” James called after them.

***  
Sirius caught her eye before Lily turned away, and saw how it was filled with all the disappointment he felt in himself at the moment.Lily and Severus disappeared down the train’s corridor, and all Sirius could think about was how he had managed to completely mess up his first real friendship in less than a day. 

“At least she’s not thinking about those other twats anymore,” James declared, as he moved to the window so he could rest his back against the wall, and put his legs on the seat. 

Sirius gaped at the boy by the window. He supposed he was right. Right now Narcissa was probably the last thing on Lily’s mind. 

“I really hope you make Gryffindor,” James informed Sirius, before laying back against the wall as if he was going to sleep again. 

Sirius hoped so too, because despite all that had just happened he really liked James Potter, and it seemed James Potter liked him.

**Author's Note:**

> If I'm honest, I was almost going to rewrite this before I posted it. The way Sirius acted near the end of the chapter, just felt a little off. It wasn't until I read through it to edit, that I realised the way he acted made sense. Sirius wants someone to accept him more than anything, and James gave him that without hesitation. Severus hadn't exactly been kind to Sirius since they met, and had to be bribed (in a way) to keep his mouth shut about who he was. Once the argument broke out, Sirius was always going to take James side. I also remember that these characters are eleven years old, their conflict resolution skills aren't going to be perfect. 
> 
> I mentioned above how some of the dialogue in this chapter is from The Deathly Hallows. I used the dialogue because I want to story to be able to fit into canon, and for that to happen that scene had to exist in it. It was interesting writing this scene from the P.O.V of Sirius rather than Harry through Snape's memory. It gave me a chance to explain what was going on in Sirius' head, and while I don't condone his actions, I think it was clear to see from the dialogue how all three of them were kinda in the wrong. 
> 
> Anyhow, thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I'd love to hear any feedback, including constructive criticism. I made this account and started sharing my stories to improve my skill.
> 
> Also if you see any grammar/spelling mistakes in this piece, please feel free to mention them in the comments so I can fix them. I did proof read and edit, but knowing me I definitely missed something.
> 
> I


End file.
